Skiing in Africa
Skiing in Africa is a genuine oddity, and the honest truth is that it exists only in pockets and only for a few months of the year. The continent has no alpine resort culture to speak of, but the High Atlas of Morocco, the mountain kingdom of Lesotho, and a scattering of frosty highlands do turn white in winter, and a small tribe of enthusiasts turns up to make turns. Expect modest verticals, short and unreliable seasons, and lifts that range from a single working drag to a sun-bleached chairlift, rather than the groomed pistes of the Alps.
What Africa lacks in infrastructure it makes up for in novelty and atmosphere. The idea of skiing above the Sahara at Oukaimeden, or dropping into a dusting of snow in landlocked Lesotho with the sub-Saharan sun on your back, is the sort of story most skiers never get to tell. The resorts here are small, sociable and cheap, and the surrounding cultures - Berber villages, Basotho herders in blankets, Ethiopian highland shepherds - are as much the point as the snow.
For the more committed, the real prize is ski-touring and mountaineering on Africa’s great peaks. The glaciers of Mount Kenya and the couloirs above Toubkal offer serious, self-reliant descents for those willing to carry their skis uphill, while the Ethiopian highlands hold high, empty plateaux that see snow but almost no skiers. Come for the curiosity, temper your expectations about the snow, and treat it as an adventure rather than a ski holiday.
Where to Ski in Africa#
Oukaimeden, Morocco Perched at around 2,600 metres in the High Atlas just south of Marrakech, Oukaimeden is the most established ski resort in North Africa and famously claims the highest ski lift on the continent. The runs are short and the snow cover is patchy and heavily weather-dependent, typically from January to March, but skiing within sight of the Sahara’s edge is an experience in itself. Berber villagers rent battered gear at the base and lead mules up the slopes, giving the whole place a charmingly improvised feel.
Afriski, Lesotho Tucked into the Maloti Mountains at over 3,200 metres, Afriski is the only operating ski resort in southern Africa and one of the highest in the world. It offers a single main slope with snowmaking, a terrain park and a genuinely festive atmosphere during the June-to-August winter, drawing South Africans up the vertiginous Moteng Pass for a rare taste of snow. The scale is tiny, but the novelty of skiing in landlocked, blanket-clad Lesotho is unbeatable.
Tiffindell, South Africa Sitting below Ben Macdhui, the Eastern Cape’s highest peak, Tiffindell is South Africa’s own little ski resort, relying heavily on snow cannons to hold a season from June to August. The single main run is modest, but the remote setting in the southern Drakensberg foothills and the cozy, pub-centred lodge culture make it a beloved winter escape. Access is via a rough 4x4 track, so half the adventure is simply getting there.
Michlifen and Ifrane, Morocco In the cedar-forested Middle Atlas near the alpine-styled town of Ifrane, Michlifen is a small, family-friendly ski area that catches snow in a good winter. Ifrane itself, with its pitched roofs and clipped hedges, was built by the French to feel like a European mountain village, and the contrast with the surrounding Moroccan landscape is surreal. It is an easy, low-commitment introduction to Moroccan snow, popular with local families.
Chrea, Algeria In the Blidean Atlas an hour or so south of Algiers, Chrea is a faded but characterful ski station set among cedar forest in a national park. Snow is unreliable and the infrastructure is threadbare, but when the flakes fall Algerois families flock up for sledging and a few runs. It is one of the least-visited ski spots on the continent, and a curiosity for the truly determined snow-seeker.
Mount Kenya glacier ski-touring For serious alpinists, the shrinking glaciers high on Mount Kenya offer a fleeting chance to ski above 4,500 metres almost on the equator. This is committing, self-reliant ski-mountaineering rather than resort skiing, requiring altitude acclimatisation, glacier skills and a tolerance for hauling skis up scree. The ice is retreating fast, which lends any descent here a genuinely elegiac quality.
Toubkal ski-touring, Morocco North Africa’s highest summit, Jebel Toubkal at 4,167 metres, is a superb spring ski-touring objective, with long couloirs and open bowls above the village of Imlil. Between roughly February and April a strong touring party can skin up from a mountain refuge and ski thousands of feet of vertical back toward the valley. It combines real mountain terrain with Berber hospitality, making it the standout backcountry option on the continent.
Bale Mountains, Ethiopia The Sanetti Plateau in the Bale Mountains sits above 4,000 metres and receives occasional snow and frequent frost, offering high, empty, otherworldly terrain that almost no one skis. There are no lifts or facilities of any kind, so this is purely a novelty for the adventurous carrying their own equipment across afro-alpine moorland. The endemic wildlife, including the rare Ethiopian wolf, is a far bigger draw here than the fickle snow.
Djebel Toubkal refuges and the Ourika region, Morocco Beyond Oukaimeden, the wider High Atlas around the Ourika valley holds numerous touring lines that link Berber villages, mule tracks and snowy ridgelines. Local guides in Imlil and Setti Fatma can arrange multi-day ski traverses staying in gites and refuges. It is a wonderful way to combine light mountaineering with a deep immersion in mountain Berber life.